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Are Naturalized Voters Driving the California Latino Electorate? Measuring the Effect of IRCA Citizens on Latino Voting

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  • Matt A. Barreto
  • Ricardo Ramírez
  • Nathan D. Woods

Abstract

Objectives. The 1990s witnessed the growth and maturation of the Latino electorate in California and many scholars have posited as to the reasons. One argument is that naturalizations by way of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) drove the increases in Latino participation. In this article we investigate the extent to which this is the case. Methods. Using unpublished INS data, we offer the first empirical test of the IRCA theory by examining Latino IRCA petitions by zipcode to determine whether or not IRCA legalizations and subsequent naturalizations were the force behind increased Latino turnout, and the overall growth of the Latino vote. We merge IRCA data with Registrar of Voter data to examine real growth in the Latino vote at the zipcode level from 1996–2000 in southern California. Results. Although Latino voting grew substantially, we find that IRCA naturalizations did not spur the increases in Latino voting in the 1990s as some have expected. Instead, demographic and mobilization variables explain why the Latino vote grew between 1996 and 2000. Conclusions. As Congress debates new proposals to “legalize” the millions of undocumented immigrants living and working in this country, many will inevitably ask what impact their citizenship will have on the electorate. This study sheds some light on the relationship between amnesty programs, citizenship, and voting among Latinos.

Suggested Citation

  • Matt A. Barreto & Ricardo Ramírez & Nathan D. Woods, 2005. "Are Naturalized Voters Driving the California Latino Electorate? Measuring the Effect of IRCA Citizens on Latino Voting," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 86(4), pages 792-811, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:86:y:2005:i:4:p:792-811
    DOI: 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00356.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Ira N. Gang & Myeong-Su Yun, 2007. "Immigration Amnesty and Immigrant's Earnings," Research in Labor Economics, in: Immigration, pages 273-309, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Mary J. Lopez, 2017. "Interior Immigration Enforcement and Political Participation of U.S. Citizens in Mixed-Status Households," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2223-2247, December.
    3. Niambi M. Carter & Tyson D. King-Meadows, 2019. "Perceptual Knots and Black Identity Politics: Linked Fate, American Heritage, and Support for Trump Era Immigration Policy," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-27, January.
    4. Sarah Allen Gershon & Adrian D. Pantoja, 2014. "Pessimists, Optimists, and Skeptics: The Consequences of Transnational Ties for Latino Immigrant Naturalization," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 95(2), pages 328-342, June.

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